River Forest, Riverside clean up after deluge

April 23, 2013|By Michelle Manchir, Chicago Tribune reporter

As of Monday, Swan Pond Park, adjacent to the Des Plaines River off Fairbank and Bloomingbank roads in Riverside, was still under water. According to the village, the river crested at 11 feet, 4 inches on Friday, April 19. (Paige Fumo Fox, Special to the Tribune)

Communities in western Cook County are still cleaning up this week from a rainfall that left some streets and homes flooded.

Some areas saw five inches or more of rain, and the Des Plaines River overflowed wreaking havoc on some River Forest and Riverside homes, drawing visits to the area from Gov. Pat Quinn to assess the damage.

About 200 people in Riverside were displaced from their homes after the heavy rains, said Trustee Ben Sells, who will be sworn in as village president on May 6. The river in Riverside was recorded at 11 feet, 4 inches on Friday, a record for the village, Sells said.

Still, as of Monday, all major roadways were reopened for traffic, Sells said. Cleanup continues this week as trash bins were delivered Monday to areas hardest hit by the rain, and special trash pick-up was scheduled this week to help with the clean up, Sells said.

"Local volunteer groups and churches have organized to remove soaked drywall and carpet, help pump out water, and collect fans to aid in drying out. People are tired but spirits are undaunted," Sells said.

In River Forest, while evacuation was initially urged by officials for some living on Lake Street, evacuation of homes ultimately was not needed, said River Forest village administrator Eric Palm.

Chicago Avenue at Thatcher Avenue in River Forest was still closed earlier this week because of flooding from the Des Plaines River, though according to the village, the river is continuing to recede.

River Forest Village officials are asking residents to complete a flood survey to determine the extent of residential property damage. The survey can be found on its website at vrf.us.

Meanwhile, Oak Park and La Grange were villages that were somewhat spared, with all major roads open by Friday and no major issues reported. Still, Oak Park Elementary School District 97 closed schools April 18 because of severe weather.

According to an email from the district spokesman, Chris Jasculca, the district on the morning of April 18 received notification from its transportation company that the weather conditions "will prohibit them from providing service today."

Brookfield Zoo closed on April 18 and 19 because of the weather for only the third time in its history, said zoo spokeswoman Sondra Katzen.

The only other times it closed for weather was for the blizzard on Feb. 2, 2011, and after a weekend rainstorm in September of 2008, she said.

She said moats in the big cats and bear exhibits had flooded and staff had to turn off power to some animal buildings because of basement flooding.

While all the animals were safe, Katzen said some tropical animals, like birds and reptiles, had to be moved to "warmer buildings."